The Snake
by Paper Train
Summary: She became the queens snake after the queen lost her dog and spider. Maylene and Finny now must work under the same person who took their friends away but Maylene won't stop until she gets revenge. Even if that means asking for help from a little demon.


AN: I know some of you are probably pissed at me for not continuing my other stories but I am working on them. However, their progress is slow. I've been rewriting chapters like crazy in my free time but the content has been slipping in its quality lately. So, in an attempt to get my writing mojo back, I started this new story. It feels nice, like a fresh start. I can't guarantee that'll update this a lot because I still have an obligation to my other stories.

This pairing is very rare, as it is a Ciel x Maylene story, but I hope there are some fans of this ship to appreciate this story because anyone who knows me (or has at least read my profile) knows that I am not one for canon pairings.

Full summary because of the stupid 200-something word limit:

After the disappearance of the queens Dog and Spider, the queen decides to burn down both estates, killing off Bard and Tanaka. Left to take care of Finny, the queen offers her a position to replace the two chess pieces she lost–The Snake. The queens' snake, which lures her prey into darkness and strikes once blinded, plays the roles of both the former dog and spider. Maylene wants to take revenge on the queen and in doing so makes a contract with a familiar…little…demon.

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The Snake

Chapter 1

_Into the heat of the chamber and out the barrel_

Occasionally, even now, she wondered how the heat of her gun felt. She knew the mechanism and anatomy of a gun better than anyone, possibly with the exception of those who design the weaponry themselves. Those who had dared challenged her knowledge were quickly defeated as she answered and fired questions with the speed of a gun itself. Before, she wondered: how hot did it get inside its chamber? How hot was the bullet when it reaches its target? How hot would the spot feel when it penetrated? How hot would the bullet be if she were able to catch it in midair? But now she wondered something else entirely. Is this how hot it feels inside a guns chamber? Is this how hot the bullet felt before leaving the barrel? With flames licking at her feet she had little doubt. The thuds of their feet against the singed rug sounded like the bangs of thousands of guns firing, one after the other. The only difference was that she was not pulling a trigger; instead, a man was pulling her hand.

"Watch out!" Someone had yelled and the next thing she knew she was being tackled to the floor. A harsh bam shook her ears and killed her for only a moment before being shaken, restarting her heart. The two stood there in the heat, the temperature momentarily forgotten as he examined her for any injury. If he had asked her any questions, she didn't hear them; she was still in too much of a shock to register their burning surroundings. Someone else had yelled, this time significantly older, and she was once again dragged across the house. The house. Their house. _His_ House. It all seemed one and the same.

"Maylene!" She looked up to the voice. She looked up to see Bard, his face twisted with worry, annoyance, and desperation. Bard asked no questions and pulled her ahead of him, pushing her to run before he himself was running behind her.

"Maylene! Bard!" The hysterical cry belonged to none other than Finny. Maylene saw how Finny was holding a large beam up, most of his gloves already disintegrated into ashes. The sight of fire blistering the hands of her younger friend snapped her reality into shape and she ran faster than before, this time it was she pulling Bard along. Tanaka led her and Bard under the beam quickly before they all ran together. Finny's hands were swollen and the flesh was raw and a sickly red. If he had felt any pain he did not show it because he kept a tight grip on her hand and she could feel the blisters and the torn skin on his hands. Despite the situation, she made a frantic mental note to treat him to the best of her abilities. If the best of her abilities weren't enough, then she would make them enough. She would even pay someone else to do it in her stead if it came to that, and that was saying something since she considered her friends too precious to put in the hands of a stranger. Floorboards were falling beneath them; the ceiling was collapsing on top of them, and walls crumbing beside them. There was literally nowhere they could run except straight in this burning house. Just like a gun, there was only one way out. And they were all so close to making it. So close that it would haunt Maylene for the rest of her days. The closed window at the end of the hall was the barrel to this gun chamber of a house and they would have to go straight through to get out. Finny began to run with all his adrenaline ahead of the in order to burst the window open. He jumped out first, the window shattering and glistening against the light of flames so much it resembled snow. A mockery her memory would never fail to remind her. She was about to run second when something above them could no longer handle to the attacks from the flames. It was falling directly on top of her. It was so close she could feel the heat clawing and scratching against the top of her head. She almost missed the feeling of being propelled forward by a set of hands. With a grunt, Maylene landed on the floor a few feet away from where she was previously standing. Her lungs coughed furiously due to the strenuous activity mixed with the lack of oxygen and abundance of various gasses. She rubbed her eyes, not noticing her glasses were no longer concealing them, but even without her glasses she saw the nightmare in front of her. Tanaka, the former head butler; the kind tea drinker, was being crushed under the weight of the ceiling. Her friend! Her mind kept telling her. It was her friend being crushed! It was her friend who had pushed her out of the way and it was her fault for being careless. Bard tried removing the debris but only more fell down on top of them. He closed his eyes, seeming to settle things within himself and held his arms above his head keeping any more falling chunks of roofing from descending on top of him and Tanaka. His eyes locked with Maylene, he searched her for a moment, his eyes whispering apologies to her.

"Go!" He yelled.

"No!" She screamed back. How dare he ask that! She thought. How dare he command me to leave them behind!

"Don't be stupid Maylene! You need to go! Now!" He retorted.

"I won't! Not without you two! You are my friends and my family!"

"Maylene!" Bard yelled back. He couldn't deny that he desperately wanted to live. To live through this and be with his friends but he knew that it was impossible at this point. He had been selfish and foolish before, he had made mistakes before, he knew now was not the time to make a mistake.

"Maylene." A softer, calmer, voice broke through them. Maylene's hysterical wide eyes landed on Tanaka's crumpled form.

"Go," he said gently.

"I can't–"

"Yes, you can," he reassured her.

"But–but what about you and Bard? I can't leave you two!" She argued.

"Maylene, you are a good friend, and I am eternally grateful for the time you have given me, but now that time must come to an end."

"But!" She was holding her sobbing at bay. Her words were sounding hideous and pitiful; with its chocking sound and desperate whining.

"Finny needs you," Tanaka started. "He needs you more than we need you or you need us." She wanted to argue, she wanted to fight, but she couldn't argue them. Their point was too valid and she wanted nothing but to cry openly in front of them.

"Maylene," Bards voice interrupted her. His voice was gentle now, calmer, and resolute. He flashed her a toothy smile. "Take care of the kid." She bit her bottom lip and nodded, standing erect like a soldier in his line and he couldn't help but think how proud he was of her. Maylene looked over to Tanaka. He smiled his gentle smile and nodded in the direction of the window. With one final glance back, she ran towards the window and jumped out. Bard must have been loosing his strength rapidly during their argument because she only just out the window when the hall behind her erupted in flames, shooting behind her as if the flames pushed her out of the window like a bullet. Bard had lost his strength and with a final smile towards Tanaka, he let go of the debris.

Maylene landed in Finny's arms and sobbed into as he held her. He sobbed into her hair and not soon after they were both so tired that they collapsed onto the ground. Their voices gave out so they were not even given the liberty to cry freely. They were still on the ground hours later though Maylene had stopped crying and cradled Finny into the crook of her neck where she heard occasional whimpers. She cooed him and rubbed his head and back until he was silent again. If anything was to gain from this, it was her responsibility to Finny, and she would not fail him or herself.


End file.
